Chasing Shadows
by Sirap
Summary: Sequel to Chameleon. When B'Elanna and Chakotay go missing Tom and Alex Monroe are called upon to find them. *COMPLETED*
1. Into Thin Air

Chasing Shadows  
  
By Sirap  
  
  
  
Part One: Into Thin Air  
  
"Come on, B'Elanna, it will be fun."  
  
She barely heard Harry pleading with her, she wasn't paying any attention to him.  
  
She was watching the couple in the corner. Tucked away in the far side of the mess hall talking discreetly.  
  
Tom Paris and Alex Monroe.  
  
"B'Elanna!" Harry cried in exasperation.  
  
B'Elanna quickly returned her attention to the ensign across from her. "Yes?"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Shore leave. Are you coming with me?"  
  
B'Elanna crinkled her nose in disgust, "I don't know Harry, I don't trust those Dasavons, they give me the creeps."  
  
"Yow shouldn't judge on looks, B'Elanna," Harry chided. "Besides, Tom will be there."  
  
B'Elanna's eyes quickly snapped back to Harry's. "Tom's going?"  
  
Harry smiled at his victory. "Of course. The transporter room, Oh eight hundred hours?"  
  
B'Elanna smiled. "You know what, Starfleet? I'll be there."  
  
* * * *  
  
B'Elanna hurried down the hall. She was more excited about visiting Dasavon than she would admit. It had been a long time since she'd done something with just her, Harry and Tom.  
  
But when the transporter room doors opened, the first person she saw was Ensign Alexandra Monroe.  
  
"Finally," Tom said with false exasperation. "Now we can get down to the planet."  
  
"Actually, I can't go," B'Elanna blurted before she could stop herself. "Something came up in Engineering."  
  
Tom narrowed his eyes, "Really?"  
  
B'Elanna smiled falsely, "You know how I am about my engines."  
  
"Are you sure?" Harry asked. He seemed concerned.  
  
B'Elanna nodded and watched them dematerialize.  
  
"Problems in engineering, huh?" a voice said from behind her.  
  
B'Elanna twirled around, "Chakotay!" she exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"What was that about? I was in Engineering, Carey said everything was at optimal efficiency."  
  
B'Elanna's eyes began to cloud with misdirected rage, "I just didn't feel like going, okay?" she growled.  
  
"No it's not," he shot back. "You've missed the last two shore leaves. You need a break."  
  
B'Elanna lowered her head, "I've been busy, Chakotay." she started.  
  
"Why don't you come with me?" he interrupted. "We can talk."  
  
B'Elanna sighed. That was the last thing she wanted to do. If she got started talking she just might end up telling Chakotay more than she wanted him to know. But seeing the resolve in his eyes she knew he wouldn't take no for an answer.  
  
"Fine," she snapped, sounding less than happy. "But I don't want to be gone all night."  
  
"Don't worry, Torres," Chakotay smiled. "I'll have you home by ten."  
  
* * * *  
  
Tom slumped in the patio chair. Here he was on a beautiful planet, at a café over looking the vast purple ocean of Dasavon with two of his closest friends and he couldn't seem to enjoy himself.  
  
"Are you alright, Tom?" Alex asked softly.  
  
Tom ignored her question. "Did B'Elanna seem to be acting strangely to you?" he asked sitting up in the chair.  
  
Alex shrugged and Harry laughed nervously, "You know how she is about staying away from her engines for too long." Harry said.  
  
Tom shook his head, "No, that was just a cover," he said.  
  
"I think you're reading too much into this," Harry said quietly.  
  
Tom turned his eyes back to the violet waters, he watched as the waves crashed against the rocks.  
  
He wished he could tell B'Elanna the truth about him. He hides things from her, from all of them and they noticed it. They could sense his distance.  
  
Lately B'Elanna had been acting strangely around him, but not if they were alone, only if Alex was with them. He guessed it had to do with what she had walked in on the previous month. He wanted to fix their relationship but didn't know how to explain away what had happened without uncovering the truth about his past.  
  
Tom and Alex were just friends, but ever since Harry and B'Elanna had caught them in a rather compromising position, everyone believed they were a couple. Including B'Elanna, hence the problem. B'Elanna, like Alex was just Tom's friend, but it was different between them. It was like they had an unspoken agreement that someday they would become more.  
  
"Come on, Tom. Lighten up," Alex smiled. "It's a glorious day and we only have two more hours of time left before we need to return to Voyager."  
  
Tom smiled half-heartedly, "You're right, I'm sorry. So where did you say you wanted to go next?"  
  
"The beach!" Alex exclaimed, and Tom and Harry smiled at her enthusiasm.  
  
* * * *  
  
B'Elanna and Chakotay walked slowly through one of the planets many gorgeous gardens.  
  
"Do you hear that?" B'Elanna asked suddenly.  
  
"What?" Chakotay asked, bemused.  
  
"That noise," she growled impatiently. "It sounds like some kind of transmition frequency."  
  
Chakotay gave an all-suffering sigh, "Don't you ever relax?"  
  
B'Elanna motioned for him to be quiet as she strained to find the source of the faint noise. B'Elanna moved over to one of the flowerbeds and leaned in, pulling something out of her pocket.  
  
"You brought a tricorder?" Chakotay asked incredulously when he saw what it was. "This is shore leave, not a survey mission."  
  
B'Elanna again motioned for him to be quiet and fiddled with the instrument in her hands. "It is a transmition!" B'Elanna cried, her eyes gleaming. "It's coming from the flower."  
  
Chakotay narrowed his eyes and looked at the small violet daisy to which she was referring. "The flower." He echoed, his voice was laced with disbelief but she ignored him.  
  
"I think I can decode it," she mused. "Three.two.eighty.Chakotay! I think these are coordinates. Chakotay?" When she got no response she looked up from her tricorder.  
  
Chakotay was gone. He'd disappeared into thin air.  
  
Before she could react, something connected with the back of her head and her consciousness faded into velvety blackness.  
  
  
  
To be continued.  
  
  
  
Sorry, my intros are always slow. Things will get more exciting in the next parts. 


	2. Forgotten Past

Chasing Shadows  
  
By Sirap  
  
  
  
Part Two: Forgotten Past  
  
Harry smiled as his two friends ran ahead of him, kicking up silvery sand.  
  
It had been hard for him to believe Tom and Alex were a couple at first. He hadn't even known they were friends.  
  
Even now, watching Tom chase Alex across the beach they didn't seem like they belonged together.  
  
Or maybe he'd just thought Tom belonged with B'Elanna.  
  
"Voyager to all hands," Janeway's authoritive voice rang over the com.  
  
Tom and Alex stopped to listen, "All shore leave has been recalled, prepare to beam back to the ship."  
  
"So much for fun in the sun," Harry complained. "I wonder what's happened now."  
  
Alex shrugged and Tom rubbed his neck with a sigh. He had a bad feeling about this.  
  
* * * *  
  
Tom, Harry and Alex had just stepped off the transporter pad when Janeway called a meeting of the senor staff.  
  
"You'd better hurry," Alex said. 'This sounds serious."  
  
Tom and Harry nodded and sprinted off for the conference room.  
  
"What do you think this is about?" Harry asked nervously.  
  
"I don't know, Har," Tom replied as they reached their destination.  
  
The first thing Tom noticed was that Neelix and Kes were present and B'Elanna and Chakotay weren't. Tom and Harry took their seats and the meeting began.  
  
"I'll be blunt," Janeway said. "B'Elanna and Chakotay have gone missing."  
  
"What?" Tom exclaimed. "Can't you find them with sensors?"  
  
"The Commander and Lieutenant Torres disappeared from our sensors a half hour ago," Tuvok said emotionlessly. "We've been unable to locate them since."  
  
Tom slouched in his chair. How could this happen? He had thought B'Elanna was in Engineering.  
  
"Since sensors are not helping along our search, the only logical solution would be to send a team to the surface so that they can investigate," Tuvok told the Captain. "If you wish, I will lead the team."  
  
"No," Janeway deadpanned. "We don't know what happened to them so we can't be sure it won't happen again. Ambassador Siward has said terrorists are most likely responsible but there is no evidence."  
  
"Captain," Tuvok sounded surprised. "We will not gather any new information from Voyager."  
  
Janeway sighed, coming to a decision she had told herself she would never make. "This meeting is adjourned. Harry, Tuvok work with sensors. Do whatever you can."  
  
The two officers nodded and the crew began to file out of the room.  
  
"Mister Paris," Janeway called to her retreating pilot. "Stay a moment."  
  
Tom turned back around and faced his Captain.  
  
"What do you think I should do?"  
  
Tom's eyes widened, "Me, Captain?"  
  
Janeway smiled slightly, "Yes, you Tom. I don't want to send just anybody back down to the planet. I need somebody who is better than just anybody."  
  
Tom's hands clenched. She couldn't know.  
  
"Do you think if I sent you and Alex down there you'd be able to solve this mystery?"  
  
Tom searched her eyes. Just how much did Janeway know about him and Alex? "Alex and I are a good team," he said. "I'm sure we can find B'Elanna and Chakotay."  
  
"Good," Janeway said. "I want you to depart immediately. And don't tell anyone else about this meeting. Not yet." Tom nodded. "Tom, find them. By any means. Dismissed."  
  
Tom quickly turned to the door but before he could exit, Janeway called after him, "Good luck. Not that you need it."  
  
Tom left the conference room feeling bemused. Janeway had hinted at knowledge she shouldn't know.  
  
"Paris to Monroe."  
  
"Here."  
  
"Prepare for an away mission, Ensign. Meet me in Transporter Room 2 and be discreet."  
  
* * * *  
  
Tom surveyed the immaculate gardens for any sign of a struggle. This was the last place Chakotay and B'Elanna were known to have been.  
  
Alex crouched beside Tom, both blended in wearing tight fitting black jumpsuits.  
  
Their mission was secret from both the Dasavions and the Voyager crew.  
  
Secrets were familiar ground for Tom and Alex.  
  
When Janeway had contacted the Dasavion Ambassador, he hadn't seemed very concerened by the disappearance of the two Voyagers, mumbling something about a terrorist group most likely being responsible.  
  
That wasn't much to go on.  
  
Usually, Tom and Alex liked it that way it gave them a challenge. But with B'Elanna's life on the line, Tom didn't want to take any chances.  
  
Alex nudged Tom with her elbow and motioned towards a flowerbed. The two swiftly headed over to the spot. There was a section of plowed up dirt that looked severely amiss among the flawless gardens.  
  
"I don't see any trace of what was here, the roots have been pulled."  
  
Alex nodded, "So it most likely wasn't just some tourist picking a bouquet but that still doesn't help us any."  
  
Tom sighed, she was right. It didn't mean anything, not alone.  
  
Taking out his tricorder he manually set it to a frequency so contracted that not even Janeway knew about it.  
  
"They were here alright," Tom whispered to Alex. He had picked up residual life sign signatures. "And so was another Dasavion and another person belonging to a species I've never seen."  
  
"You're sure they were all here at the same time?" Alex asked.  
  
Tom double-checked his readings, "Yes, the four were all here the same time the sensors malfunctioned."  
  
"So you think they've been abducted," Alex surmised.  
  
Tom nodded, "Looks that way but we had already suspected that. We're still not getting anywhere."  
  
"Be patient," Alex chided. "These kinds of assignments take time. You can't always expect instant results. You're not that good."  
  
Tom smiled but it soon faded. He wasn't in the mood to be smiling. Why would a Dasavion and another off-world alien abduct two tourists from a visiting ship?  
  
Off hand there appeared to be no logical reason.  
  
There had to be a reason.  
  
The reason was the key.  
  
* * * *  
  
Chakotay's eyes followed B'Elanna as she paced their cell.  
  
"There. two. eighty. ninety. four."  
  
She'd been pacing, nonstop. Repeating the same numbers over and over again for nearly the entire hour or so since they had regained consciousness.  
  
They'd woken up in the small cell to the incessant sound of dripping water, their heads aching from the blows they'd received.  
  
The cell consisted of rusted brown metal walls and leaking pipes. Instead of a force field there were bars. Thick bars placed only an inch apart and impossible to break.  
  
B'Elanna had tried.  
  
The old fashioned lock on the door wasn't a computer and so B'Elanna was clueless on how to work it.  
  
Chakotay had went to the one bench in the prison and sat back patiently, waiting for events to unfold.  
  
B'Elanna abruptly stopped her pacing, "I know they're coordinates, Chakotay. And they're not far from here, maybe a light year or two."  
  
"That doesn't help us get out of here," Chakotay reminded.  
  
"No, but it might answer the question of why we're here. Those coordinates mean something, Chakotay. Somehow they are significant and nobody was supposed to know about them."  
  
"If that's true perhaps you should stop chanting them out loud. If anybody's listening it would be best if they thought we didn't know anything."  
  
"I can't forget those numbers. Who knows what is at stake here. We have to get back to Voyager."  
  
Chakotay smiled, "I'm open for suggestions on how to get out of here."  
  
B'Elanna sighed and collapsed on the bench beside Chakotay. "Three. two. eighty. ninety. four."  
  
* * * *  
  
Tom looked up at the sound of crunching leaves, grabbing Alex's arm he pulled her behind a bush.  
  
Two Dasavion males entered the gardens. Both were well dressed, talking casually.  
  
But Tom recognized something about their stride, their all-seeing eyes. They weren't just two guys out for a midnight stroll.  
  
One of the men pulled out a phaser rifle and watched the entrance to the gardens, the other knelt down and opened his briefcase.  
  
Tom and Alex strained to see what was inside.  
  
It was a flower.  
  
The second man quickly lifted the flower up and planted it in the barren spot of the flowerbed.  
  
The man with a rifle glanced at his partner, "That flower's clean, right?"  
  
The unarmed man nodded, "We couldn't risk putting another transmitter in the same spot but if we left the spot open, people would get suspicious. Nothing is ever out of place in the gardens."  
  
Tom used the lookouts lapse in guard to circle around behind him. He swiftly clamped a hand over the man's mouth and pressed a sedative filled hypo to his neck while Alex took care of the other man.  
  
'By any means,' Janeway had said.  
  
Alex and Tom lowered the two men to the ground and Tom pulled out his tricorder and Alex picked up the Dasavion's briefcase.  
  
Alex and Tom had rented a room at one of the nearby hotels, Tom transported the four of them there now.  
  
Tom pulled off his backpack after they'd materialized. Taking out two pieces of nylon rope he bound the hands of both men.  
  
Alex pulled a small case from the bag and looked at their prisoners. Outwardly they looked almost human. There eyes were narrower, their ears were much smaller but the differences were subtle. Alex guessed they'd have about the same tolerance for drugs as humans. Using her tricorder she made sure she was correct, as always, she was. She prepared one of the hypos in her case with just the right amount of Miratol.  
  
Standing over the man who had been unarmed she motioned for Tom to help her get him into a chair.  
  
The other man was just a lookout and would probably not know the answers to their questions.  
  
Alex injected the Miratol into the man's neck. It was an old trick. It would put a person in a level of consciousness that took away all their defenses. Theoretically the man would answer all their questions and truthfully.  
  
"Can you tell me your name?" Alex asked softly.  
  
"Dican," he responded groggily.  
  
"Alright Dican, why were you in the gardens?"  
  
".planting a flower."  
  
"Why were you planting a flower?"  
  
"Someone discovered the transmitter."  
  
"The transmitter?"  
  
"It sends messages between the two factions."  
  
"Whose two factions?"  
  
"The Mivaino Alliance's two factions."  
  
"What is the Mivaino Alliance?"  
  
"We're a group loyal to the Mivaino."  
  
"The Mivaino are another species?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Has your group taken any terrorist actions against the Dasavion world?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you know what happened to the two Voyagers? The Klingon women and the human male?"  
  
"They found our transmitter, they decoded a sensitive message."  
  
Tom instantly became more alert.  
  
"What message?" Alex asked.  
  
"I don't have clearance for that information."  
  
"What has happened to the Voyagers?"  
  
"They were turned over to Siward."  
  
Tom's cobalt blue eyes widened, "The ambassador?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Siward was the ambassador assigned to handle relations with Voyager.  
  
"What had Siward done with them?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
After another ten minutes of dead end questions Tom and Alex packed up.  
  
Leaving the two men unconscious in the hotel room, they headed down the emergency stairs and back out onto the street.  
  
"What do you say we pay Ambassador Siward a visit?" Tom asked.  
  
A smile played on Alex's lips as she answered, "It'd be a pleasure."  
  
To be continued.  
  
  
  
Read and review, I hope you liked it. Sorry it took so long to get it up. 


	3. Tricks of the Trade

Chasing Shadows  
  
By Sirap  
  
Part 3: Tricks of the Trade  
  
The Ambassador's home was well guarded. It seemed to Alex and Tom that the excessive security was unnecessary for a modest Ambassador.  
  
Although certainly not unnecessary for one of the leaders in a terrorist organization.  
  
"How will we get in?" Alex asked.  
  
"The mansion has a dampening field so we can't transport in but we can transport to the roof."  
  
"And there's a skylight on the roof," Alex smiled.  
  
"Leading straight to the Ambassadors quarters," Tom said examining the scans he'd taken with his tricorder.  
  
"He's probably sleeping, this should be simple."  
  
Tom nodded, "Transporting us now."  
  
Alex and Tom materialized on the roof, a few feet from the skylight. The two swiftly moved to it, it was a large casement, square in shape. And directly below was the Ambassador's bed.  
  
"This will be easier than I thought," Tom said taking out his phaser.  
  
Alex pulled a Klapper from her pack, it was a simple but useful device. It had an extremely powerful suction cup on one side, a handle on the other.  
  
She slammed the Klapper down in the middle of the square window and Tom used his phaser to cut the glass in a circle around the suction device.  
  
Tom grabbed the handle and pulled the circle of cut glass up, setting it off to the side.  
  
The partners then quickly laced pieces of black rope through their belts and lowered themselves down.  
  
They both dropped to the ground softly, not waking the snoring Ambassador.  
  
"Wake up, Siward," Tom said, aiming his phaser at the chubby man.  
  
Siward's wide eyes flew open, "Who are you? Guard.!"  
  
Alex clamped her hand over the mans mouth, "No yelling, Mister Siward. Now why don't you tell us what you've done with the Voyagers?"  
  
Alex removed her hand and the Ambassador stared at them through terrified purple eyes.  
  
"Well," Tom prompted. "Speak up."  
  
The man coughed, "Who are you?" he rasped as he sat up.  
  
"That's none of your concern," Alex said smoothly. "Now tell us what we want to know or I will make this encounter very unpleasant for you," Alex had taken another hypo from her pack and was filling it with Miratol. "Either you talk, or we make you."  
  
His violet eyes enlarged even wider as he stared at the hypo. "Wait," he said with a slightly hysterical laugh. "Now lets not be hasty. I don't have any idea what happened to those people! I would have already told your Captain!"  
  
"Not if you were the one who took them," Tom said smartly.  
  
Again the hysterical laugh, Tom detected within it a touch of madness, "I didn't take them, why would I have taken them?"  
  
"Alright," Alex said stepping forward. "The hard way it is."  
  
"No, no," Siward began to chant but Tom held the man down and Alex injected the hypo into his neck.  
  
Slowly Siward went limp, his eyelids closing halfway.  
  
"Ambassador Siward," Alex said softly, her voice dripping in honey. "Where are Chakotay and B'Elanna?"  
  
"I. I turned them over to the Second Faction."  
  
"The other faction."  
  
"Yes, the leader requested I turn the Voyagers over to him."  
  
"Who is the leader of the Second Faction?"  
  
"He keeps his identity secret."  
  
"Do you know what he's going to do with them?"  
  
"They've been scheduled for disposer. They will be exterminated on the Day of Odious."  
  
Tom swallowed, recovering from the fact that his two friends had been given a death sentence, "When is the Day of Odious?"  
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
Tom's hands clenched. Only one day to save his friends.  
  
"What is the Day of Odious?" Alex asked calmly.  
  
"The day the true feelings of the Mavaino towards the Dasavions will be revealed. The day that the Dasavion Capital will be obliterated, your two crewman with it."  
  
"What?" Tom gasped.  
  
"The Mavaino must show the Dasavions the greater species."  
  
"But you're Dasavion," Tom cried angrily, Alex gave him a warning look.  
  
"I accept my inferiority."  
  
"How do you plan to get past the Dasavion defenses? I've never seen a system so advanced," Alex asked, keeping her voice soft.  
  
"The ship that will destroy the city will be a light year away. My team and I have been working with Mavaino scientists to find a trajectory, a position so precise that a Mavaino blast pulse could strike the city, passing through all of their shields as if they weren't even there."  
  
"That's not possible," Alex contradicted.  
  
"The Mavaino are superior. They have made it possible."  
  
"Where is the ship, what coordinates are they going to fire from? What's the trajectory?" Tom asked harshly.  
  
"The coordinates are privileged information. The Mavaino would not disclose that information to me or my team."  
  
"Then who would know the coordinates?" Alex asked.  
  
An evil smile played across the face of the half conscious Ambassador, "Your two crewman know."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Nothing's happening," B'Elanna cried in frustration. "We've been here almost 5 hours and we haven't seen anybody!"  
  
Chakotay had to agree. It was strange, usually when held prisoner the captors would make themselves known, if for no other reason than to gloat. "Maybe they don't wish to be seen."  
  
"No, it's more than that. I don't like this, something isn't right. It's like we've been left her to die."  
  
"Well, there isn't really anything we can do about it," Chakotay said.  
  
"Yes, there is!" B'Elanna yelled exasperated. "We can get out of here."  
  
"We've been through this," Chakotay sighed.  
  
"Something's going to happen, Chakotay. I can feel it. It's something bad and somehow we've fallen into the middle of it."  
  
"Well, that's great B'Elanna but again you haven't changed our situation any."  
  
B'Elanna's eyes darted around the room searching for anything that may be useful. Her gaze traveled over many rusted pipes and mildewed puddles.  
  
Then she saw something.  
  
B'Elanna tilted her head, narrowing her eyes she approached the glint of metal that she had seen from the corner of her eye.  
  
Chakotay watched as B'Elanna kneeled near a puddle. It was green and thick, he grimaced when she reached into it.  
  
B'Elanna pulled the small metal object from the ooze, it was a thin needle like object, silver in color.  
  
Though there were differences, it reminded B'Elanna of an old earth tool Tom had once shown her.  
  
A lock pick.  
  
To be continued.  
  
The next part, Dividing Alliance has already been written. I'll try and get it typed up and posted this week. 


	4. Dividing Alliance

Chasing Shadows  
  
By Sirap  
  
Part 4: Dividing Alliance  
  
"What should we do with him?" Tom asked, looking at the now unconscious Siward.  
  
"Well," Alex smiled. "We could recruit his help."  
  
Tom laughed at this, "He won't help us."  
  
"He's a politician, Tom. He values his reputation over his ethic standings."  
  
"What are you suggesting, Alex?"  
  
"We blackmail him, either he helps us or we inform the public of the Mavaino Alliance and his involvement with it."  
  
"Right," Tom said with a smile as he pulled a phaser rifle from his bag. Swinging the weapon over his shoulder he returned his gaze to Alex. "You stay here with him, do what you have to. I'm going to find B'Elanna and Chakotay."  
  
Alex took a step towards Tom, "We shouldn't split up."  
  
"We only have until tomorrow. We can get more done if we are apart."  
  
"Well where are you going? We still don't know where they are."  
  
"You let me worry about that," Tom said heading to the door. "You worry about the good Ambassador."  
  
* * * *  
  
"What is that?" Chakotay asked, coming to stand by B'Elanna and staring at the small silver object in her hand.  
  
A smile spread across her face, "This Chakotay, is our way out."  
  
"That tiny piece of metal is our way out?" Chakotay laughed.  
  
B'Elanna glared at him, "This happens to be a tool, Tom showed me something similar once. It's some kind of lock pick."  
  
"Hmmmm, and did Tom also show you how to use it?"  
  
B'Elanna flushed scarlet, "Not exactly but I'm an engineer, how hard can it be?"  
  
* * * *  
  
Deval, the Dasavion Capital was very large. The population was surly close to a million.  
  
Its destruction would be devastating.  
  
Sighing Tom pulled out his tricorder. He had transported himself to the roof of the Valto Building, tallest in Deval. It gave him a view of the entire city.  
  
It was a beautiful city, one of the most wondrous that Tom had ever seen. He couldn't allow it to be destroyed any more than he could allow his friends to die.  
  
He knew that he was close to finding them, that if they are going to be destroyed in the destruction of Deval that they would need to be in Deval.  
  
Pulling out his tricorder he began one of his more advanced scans, with the population so high it would be hard to locate any one individual but B'Elanna's distinct Klingon life signs would make it considerably easier. And hopefully, Chakotay would be with her.  
  
Tom smirked when he found a match.  
  
Undeniably Klingon life signs and beside them, a human male. He'd found them, on the edge of the city, in what appeared to be a basement.  
  
Wasting no time Tom tapped into Voyagers transporters once again and materialized behind the old building serving as a prison.  
  
Holding his phaser at his side Tom entered the backdoor. He detected only two Dasavion life signs in the building, both in a room to his right.  
  
He lifted the phaser and pushed through the door.  
  
The two guards had hit the floor before they had known what was happening.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Damn it!" B'Elanna cried as she again failed to unlock the prison door.  
  
"Give it up, B'Elanna," Chakotay sighed.  
  
"I don't give up!" she yelled back.  
  
"Well perhaps you'd benefit from some help."  
  
Both of the captives looked up at the voice.  
  
"Tom!" B'Elanna exclaimed with a smile. "How did you find us?"  
  
"I don't have time to explain, stand away from the door."  
  
Chakotay and B'Elanna stepped back and Tom blew the door open with his phaser.  
  
B'Elanna's grin went lop-sided and she threw the lock pick over her shoulder.  
  
"Okay," Tom smiled. "Now lets get you two out of here."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Oh Mister Siward," Alex coed. "It seems you've fallen asleep on me again. Kindly wake up."  
  
The Ambassador groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "You," he growled weakly. "Why are you still here?"  
  
"I require your assistance. And you are going to give it to me."  
  
"Why would I want to help you?"  
  
"Because if you don't, I'll destroy your career and you along with it. You'll be hauled off in manacles."  
  
Siward paled, "No, you mustn't tell anyone about me. It will destroy everything."  
  
"That would be the point."  
  
Siward gulped, "What is it that you want from me?"  
  
"I want you to set up a meeting with Second Factions leader."  
  
"But he'll never meet with me! He never meets with anyone."  
  
"Not my problem."  
  
"I can't do what you're asking of me."  
  
"Then perhaps I should send a communiqué to your President, tell him all about our little chat earlier."  
  
"No! Fine, I'll try to get a meeting but I promise nothing."  
  
"You're wasting time," Alex snapped. "Make your communiqué or I'll make mine."  
  
Siward pulled himself up and headed to his desk, he activated his console, "Redan, I need to meet with your leader."  
  
Redan's eyes went cold, "Sir, you know Odious meets with no one."  
  
"Tell him to make an exception, it's urgent."  
  
Redan disappeared for a moment then returned to view, "Odious has agreed to meet with you, albeit reluctantly. Is this line secure?"  
  
"Absolutely," Siward replied, his voice cracking only slightly as Alex pressed her phaser deeper into his side.  
  
"Odious will meet you in Deval."  
  
"Deval!" Siward cried.  
  
"Do you want to meet with him or not?" Redan asked sternly.  
  
"Yes, yes. Where in Deval?"  
  
"The Taial Building, he'll be in the lobby."  
  
"How will I know him?" Siward asked.  
  
"He'll know you," Redan answered cryptically before closing the link.  
  
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Alex asked.  
  
"We'll see," Siward said softly.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Tom there's something I need to tell you. I came across an encoded transmition and there was this set of coordinates…"  
  
Tom looked at B'Elanna, "Siward had told us you'd know the coordinates."  
  
"Whose Siward?" Chakotay asked.  
  
"Never mind that, what are the coordinates?"  
  
"Three, two, eighty, ninety, four." B'Elanna recited.  
  
Tom nodded and logged the numbers into his tricorder, "I need to get there."  
  
B'Elanna nodded, "First lets go back to Voyager."  
  
"Right, I'll transport you and Chakotay back."  
  
"What about you, Tom?" Chakotay asked.  
  
"Alex and I still have things to do," Tom told them.  
  
"We'll help," B'Elanna said quickly.  
  
"You can't," Tom said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "It might create a conflict of interest."  
  
"How so?" Chakotay asked.  
  
Tom tinkered with his tricorder, and B'Elanna and Chakotay began to dematerialize. "Because I plan to break the Prime Directive."  
  
* * * *  
  
Alex stared at the reflection in her blue wine glass. She could see a middle aged man walk across the lobby, stopping behind her, beside Siward but she didn't dare turn to look.  
  
"Mister Siward, I presume," the man said.  
  
Alex kept her gaze on the bartender, asked him to refill her glass.  
  
"Odious, thank you for meeting me."  
  
"It better be important," Odious said coolly. "We're taking a big risk."  
  
"It's about the prisoners, people have been asking questions," Siward whispered.  
  
"I hope you haven't been giving them answers."  
  
"No, no of course not."  
  
Odious sighed, "I hadn't wanted to do this, I hope you can understand. You've just become too big a risk."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Siward asked bemused.  
  
Odious moved his hand towards Siward. Alex saw something catch the light in his hand. A needle, maybe.  
  
Siward had hit the floor and gone into spasms before Alex had even swiveled around on her bar stool.  
  
Odious met her gaze, "And I'm afraid you've become a risk as well my dear. You should never have told Siward to make this meeting."  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
Odious just grabbed her roughly by the arm. Alex didn't say another word as he began to drag her out but she could hear the frantic cries of the people behind her… "He's dead!" "Stop them!"  
  
Odious just continued to drag Alex with him, pulling her out onto the street, "I thought you'd put up more of a fight," he said. "You are an operative for your ship Voyager, are you not?"  
  
"I pick my battles, Odious."  
  
He gave a slight smile, "I think I shall keep you alive for awhile. You may be useful, no?"  
  
"I'd rather die than be of use to you."  
  
"That can be arranged, if you insist?"  
  
Alex only glared at him.  
  
"That's what I thought," Odious said as he began to walk faster, dragging Alex with him. "Hurry up!" he yelled. "We only have two hours until the Day of Odious."  
  
"You've named a day after yourself," Alex said smartly. "How very modest of you."  
  
"I didn't name a day after myself dear girl. I named myself after a day. Odious is only my cryptonym."  
  
"Why? Why are you going to destroy your own city?"  
  
"The Dasavions need to be humbled. I will show them their true place with the destruction of their city."  
  
"But you're Dasavion!" Alex cried.  
  
Odious grimaced with disgust, "I am Mavaino! I am only undercover as a Dasavion. If I were truly a Dasavion I would kill myself!"  
  
"What makes the Dasavions so inferior?"  
  
"Nothing makes them inferior. They simply are what they are. Don't tell me you've never met a species inferior to yourself."  
  
"I haven't. I never judge the species I meet. Although I must admit my impression of the Mavaino has been rather abysmal"  
  
* * * *  
  
Tom walked faster, trying to keep Alex in his sight. He had just sent B'Elanna and Chakotay back to the ship when he'd seen Alex get dragged out of a nearby building.  
  
He didn't recognize the man holding a phaser to his partner but he suspected he was a member of the Mavaino Alliance.  
  
Tom was an expert shot, he could easily take the man out but then again Alex could just as easily escape his grasp.  
  
Alex wanted to know where she was being taken and Tom had to stop the Day of Odious from being carried out. He didn't have a ship or know where to find one but this man might lead them to one.  
  
Tom fell back as the man pulled Alex from the flow of people and into an old garage. Waiting a few beats Tom continued to follow them. He peeked into the garage and saw the Dasavion talking to a uniformed guard. The guard nodded and disappeared behind a ship.  
  
The ship wasn't very big, it was gold with both smooth and rigid lines, it was unlike any of the Dasavion ships Tom had seen and he guessed it was Mavaino.  
  
The ship had a large cargo door in its rear. He saw the man with Alex smile as it began to rise upwards and motion for Alex to enter the ship. Alex gave the man a long look then entered the ship with her captor at her heels.  
  
Tom entered the garage when the cargo door began to close. He waited until the last moment then slid through the cargo door and moved behind a stack of crates.  
  
He saw Alex and her captor disappear into the cockpit and two guards stepped in front of the hallway.  
  
He rested his phase rifle on top of one of the crates and aimed it at one of the guards.  
  
Tom was about to fire when he felt something cool jam into his neck.  
  
"Drop the phaser, son."  
  
Tom sighed and rested his hands above his head.  
  
To be continued… 


	5. Day of Odious

Chasing Shadows  
  
By Sirap  
  
  
  
Part Five: Day of Odious  
  
"Torres to Janeway!"  
  
Janeway jumped up from her seat on the bridge at the unexpected voice.  
  
"B'Elanna?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
"Chakotay and I are back on the ship, Captain but Tom is still on the planet, I'm worried he might try to do something… brash."  
  
Stupid. He's going to do something stupid.  
  
"Report to my ready room," she ordered.  
  
"We'll be right there."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Ah, the second operative," Odious said smugly as Tom was pushed roughly into the cockpit.  
  
Tom ignored him and looked to Alex, "You okay?" he asked her.  
  
Alex nodded, "You?"  
  
Tom nodded and Odious began to lose patience, "Yes very good. We're all fine. Now let's get down to business."  
  
Odious gave an oily smile, "You know your ship really showed up at the wrong time. And you and your crew have been wreaking havoc on my plans since your arrival."  
  
Tom smiled, "Thanks, we've been trying our very best."  
  
"I do not appreciate insolence, human," Odious growled. "If you want to get through this with your life I'd be more respectful."  
  
Tom laughed, "I already know that you won't let us live. We're far too dangerous to you."  
  
Odious smiled, "Yes but you might e useful to me yet. And though killing you'd be quite enjoyable I have other plans for you."  
  
Tom looked around, there were only three guards and the unarmed Odious.  
  
"Ah," Odious said. "I know what you are thinking but I assure you that my men are as well trained as yourselves,"  
  
"Can you be sure?" Tom asked. "You have no idea how well we've been trained."  
  
Odious smiled wryly, "On the contrary I've been monitoring your progress since your arrival to Dasavion. I know quite well what you're capable of."  
  
"If you've been watching us all along why did you allow us to sabatouge your plans."  
  
Odious' smile disappeared. "I'd hoped you would kill Siward for me, I hadn't counted on your cunning or your sense of mercy."  
  
"Did you count on Voyager obtaining the coordinates to where we're headed?" Tom asked casually. "328094, is it?"  
  
Odious' eyes flashed angrily. "How did you obtain the coordinates?"  
  
Tom smiled charmingly, "Didn't then tails you had tagging me call in to report they lost me?"  
  
Odious' fists clenched, "You rescued your crewmen."  
  
Tom's smile grew, "This ship is no match for Voyager, you'll never accomplish what you're attempting."  
  
"Your ship Voyager has a policy that doesn't allow them to get involved in others' affairs."  
  
"Yes… well," Tom started softly. "You solved that problem for me when you abducted me and Alex, my Captain can and will do whatever it takes to stop you and get us back."  
  
* * * *  
  
"What happened?" Janeway asked as B'Elanna and Chakotay entered her ready room.  
  
B'Elanna shook her head, "We aren't sure but Tom didn't return with us he said…"  
  
"He said there might be a conflict of interest," Chakotay finished for her.  
  
"Did he elaborate?" Janeway asked.  
  
"All I have is a set of coordinates, I think that if we go there we'll find Tom…"  
  
"And Alex," Janeway added. "She was down there too. So you don't think they'll still be on Dasavion?"  
  
"No, Tom knew I would have the coordinates and he copied them down on his tricorder."  
  
Janeway nodded, "Chakotay, take the helm and set a course for these coordinates, get us there as fast as you can."  
  
Chakotay nodded and quickly left the ready room, B'Elanna followed to assist him.  
  
* * * *  
  
Odious turned to his console, "I don't see your ship on sensors."  
  
"You don't have very good range," Alex said, speaking up for the first time. "Voyager is much faster than this ship. It won't take them long to catch up."  
  
"Then we'll just need to hurry this up, won't we?" Odious asked as he rerouted all available power to the engines in a near futile attempt to increase their speed.  
  
"What do you want with us?" Alex asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "What part do we play in you plan?"  
  
The evil smirk was back as Odious turned to the young woman. "After Deval has been destroyed I will turn you over to the Dasavions and tell them you were responsible."  
  
"I thought this was going to be a message, showing the Dasavions what the Mavaino really thought of them, what good will it do to blame the attack on two tourists?"  
  
Odious smiled, "This is only the first of many attacks, if the Dasavions believe you responsible and execute you accordingly they won't expect another attack. I'll be able to catch them off guard twice."  
  
To counted to ten to keep from launching himself at the older man, "And if they don't believe we're guilty?"  
  
"You never asked permission to return to Dasavion, the both of you were there on a stealth mission… more than a little suspicious don't you think? Knocking out two Dasavion officials and leaving them bound and unconscious in a hotel room doesn't help your case much either. I shall have no trouble proving you guilt. Now, did the two of you want to get a front row seat to the destruction of Deval?"  
  
"Yep," Tom replied flippantly. "You must be a mind reader. That's exactly why I came here, to sit back and watch you kill millions of innocent people."  
  
Tom once again caused Odious' steal gray eyes to flare up angrily, "I'm tiring of your antics," he whispered coldly.  
  
Tom's eyes contrastly glinted mischievously, "Well, you're welcome to leave…"  
  
Odious took one step forward and backhanded Tom across the face, to his disappointment however, the young prisoner never flinched but remained looking forward, his impossibly blue eyes boaring into his very soul.  
  
"Lock them in the cargo area then," Odious said. "I'll enjoy the show without their company."  
  
The three guards roughly pushed the two operatives from the cockpit sending them to the floor of the cargo bay.  
  
Tom was the first to recover and stand, he held out his hand to Alex and pulled her up.  
  
"What's the plan?" Alex asked.  
  
"That Voyager comes to our rescue, what we need is a backup plan… a fail safe in case Voyager doesn't make it in time…"  
  
Alex nodded, "I'm sure that this ship had a self destruct, if we could hack into the computer…"  
  
Tom sighed, knowing that there weren't any computer consoles in the area they were locked in, "Well, we won't be hacking into the computer, we might as well see what's in those crates."  
  
* * * *  
  
Harry couldn't believe what the Captain was telling them. B'Elanna was back -safe aboard Voyager- for which he was grateful but he couldn't stop worrying because now his other best friend along with Ensign Monroe were missing. Apparently the Captain had sent the two down to Dasavion to find Chakotay and B'Elanna without telling anyone. Something he was still angry about. Sometimes he thought the Captain expected the impossible from Tom. He couldn't figure it out, he knew Tom was much smarter than he let on and extremely resourceful but he'd gone through the same training as everyone else on board. They were all Starfleet officers and some resistance fighters with knowledge that the Academy doesn't teach. But he knew he was missing something because with all the times Janeway had asked Tom to pull of the impossible, he'd yet to disappoint her.  
  
"Captain," Harry said, pulling himself from his reverie. "I've picked up a ship on sensors, they're on a parallel course."  
  
"Hail them," Janeway ordered.  
  
"No response."  
  
* * * *  
  
  
  
It's just a bunch of junk!" Alex cried quietly as they opened the crates.  
  
"They probably just filled the crates with these old parts so no one would get suspicious of a cargo ship with no cargo," Tom reasoned. "So, what do you think we can make from these pieces?"  
  
Alex looked at him incredulously, "Make from it?"  
  
Tom nodded and pulled half of what used to be a computer console from the box, "Yea, do you think there's enough in here to make a bomb?"  
  
Alex's eyes lit up, "A bomb? That just might work! These are mostly parts that have been taken from ships, if we could find some pieces of a weapons system or better yet the self destruct system we just might be able to do it."  
  
"That's the spirit," Tom smiled as he began to pull useful scraps of metal from the crate.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Odious, we've picked up the ship Voyager on sensors, they're hailing."  
  
"Ignore them, how long until we are in position?"  
  
"Two minutes."  
  
"Very well, try to keep ahead of the ship Voyager."  
  
* * * *  
  
Tom smiled and looked at the makeshift bomb, "I think we mad a new time record for creating a bomb from a pile of junk."  
  
Alex returned his smile, "We're probably the only one's out of a small group of people who *could* make a bomb from a pile of junk."  
  
Tom nodded his agreement and set the timer for two minutes.  
  
"Is that long enough for Voyager to reach us?" Alex asked.  
  
"It's short enough to ensure that Odious won't succeed in destroying Deval, that's what's important."  
  
Alex nodded solemnly, "Right… our lives for a million Dasavions'. I can live with that… or die with it."  
  
Tom smiled slightly, "Don't count Janeway out yet she might make it in time…"  
  
Both Alex and Tom felt the ship stop, "I guess we've reached 328094," Tom whispered. "No matter, Odious won't have time to set up his weapon."  
  
Alex nodded, "Tom... if we don't come out of this I just want you to know that you're a great friend and the best agent I've ever had the pleasure of working with."  
  
Tom smiled, "The same goes for you, Alex…"  
  
"It's too bad it had to end this way though…" she said regretfully. "Before you got the courage to tell B'Elanna that you love her…"  
  
* * * *  
  
Voyager hovered above the much smaller ship. The alien space craft had stopped fleeing but still wouldn't answer hails.  
  
"Can you locate human life signs?" Janeway asked Harry.  
  
"No, ma'am… not through their shields."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Prepare the weapon and lower the shields," Odious ordered.  
  
"But the alien ship…"  
  
"Won't fire on us as long as two of their crew are on board. We can't fire the weapon with the shields up, we have to lower them."  
  
"Won't they just use their relocater device to bring their crew back to their ship?"  
  
"I've initiated a dampening field… they won't be going anywhere."  
  
* * * *  
  
"Captain! Their shields are down!" Harry called.  
  
"Life signs?" Janeway asked immeadiatly.  
  
"Tom and Alex are aboard and something else… my god! It's a bomb! Computer estimates it will explode in 60 seconds!"  
  
Janeway stifled the curse on the tip of her tongue, "Transport them aboard and get us out of here!"  
  
"I can't!" Harry cried desperately. "There's a dampening field,"  
  
B'Elanna ran to her station, "I'll see if I can break through…"  
  
"40 seconds…"  
  
"Hold on…" B'Elanna muttered.  
  
"35 seconds… 30 seconds…"  
  
"Almost…"  
  
"25 seconds…"  
  
"B'Elanna…" Janeway whispered.  
  
"Almost…" she repeated.  
  
"20 seconds…"  
  
"We have to go now," Chakotay said.  
  
Janeway clenched her hands into fists, "Get us out of here, Chakotay, warp seven…"  
  
The ship rocked from the explosion as they sped away and everyone waited silently for Janeway to ask the question they weren't sure they wanted to know the answer to.  
  
"Do we have them?" Janeway asked quietly.  
  
B'Elanna looked up practically beaming, "We've got them."  
  
The bridge crew let out a collective sigh of relief and Janeway pressed her eyes shut in silent thanks.  
  
"Chakotay, resume course for the Alpha Quadrant. I think I've had enough shore leave."  
  
Chakotay nodded seriously, "There's only so much relaxation a person can take…"  
  
  
  
Well it looks like I'm going to need one last part to tie up the loose ends… I'll try and get it up soon, sorry it's taken me so long to get this part up. 


	6. Selected Truths

Chasing Shadows  
  
By Sirap  
  
  
  
Part Six: Selected Truths  
  
Harry, B'Elanna, Chakotay and the Captain burst into the transporter room.  
  
B'Elanna smiled shyly at Tom then pulled him into a fierce embrace. "We were worried about you," B'Elanna said quietly.  
  
"You were worried about me? I'm not the one that got myself kidnapped."  
  
"Actually, Tom," Alex said playfully, "You did manage to get yourself kidnapped…"  
  
Tom smiled slightly, "Yea I guess so, thanks for the rescue by the way," he said sheepishly.  
  
"Anytime," Janeway said grinning. "Now, what happened? Why didn't you transport to the ship with Chakotay and B'Elanna?"  
  
"Alex and I had split up… I couldn't leave without her." Or allow Odious to destroy an entire city, he thought but kept it to himself. No reason to tell the Captain about his slight breach of the Prime Directive.  
  
Janeway nodded, "So did you find out what happened? Why Lieutenant Torres and Chakotay were abducted?"  
  
"Apparently B'Elanna intercepted a message from a terrorist group. They had planned to destroy the entire capital city of Dasavion," Janeway gasped and Tom quickly reassured her, "But the weapon that was meant to do it was destroyed with the ship we were on."  
  
Janeway nodded, "Well we can't get involved anymore than we already have but I'll send a message to Dasavion to warn them about this group,"  
  
"I'm sure they'd appreciate it," Tom said. "The group is called the Mavaino Alliance."  
  
Janeway nodded, "Good job," she smiled. "Both of you."  
  
Janeway left with Chakotay close behind leaving B'Elanna, Alex and Tom alone.  
  
"Well," Alex said awkwardly, "I'm going to get some rest," with that Alex quickly left the transporter room.  
  
"So," B'Elanna said. "Thanks, you know for coming for us, you took a big risk,"  
  
"B'Elanna," Tom said suddenly. "I think we need to talk,"  
  
B'Elanna stiffened, "About what?"  
  
"About Alex and what you walked in on…"  
  
B'Elanna laughed defensively, "Its none of my business…"  
  
"I just wanted you to know we aren't a couple."  
  
B'Elanna's eyes snapped to Tom's searching for honesty she was surprised to find.  
  
"I know we didn't actually deny the rumors but we just decided that we don't care what people think… but then I realized that wasn't completely true because I care what you think… and I just thought you should know."  
  
B'Elanna tried to look nonchalant, "Well, are you going to go on letting people believe you're a couple?"  
  
Tom shook his head, "No we're going to tell them we're just friends… like we should have from the beginning."  
  
"But I saw you and Alex…"  
  
"I was helping her with an old back problem, it wasn't intimate,"  
  
B'Elanna eyed him critically, "Back problem?"  
  
Tom nodded, "Right and I really am sorry for not being honest to you from the beginning,"  
  
B'Elanna thought there was more behind his words than a simple misunderstanding but didn't push him, "It's alright," she said. "Thanks for clearing this up… well, I'd better get back to engineering, will I see you tomorrow at breakfast?"  
  
Tom smiled, "Bright and early."  
  
B'Elanna returned the smile and they went their separate ways, B'Elanna was ecstatic he wasn't having an affair with Alex, now if only she could find the courage to tell him how she felt…  
  
* * * *  
  
Tom entered his quarters and wasn't surprised to see Alex lounging on his couch.  
  
"How'd it go?"  
  
"I told her the truth about us…"  
  
Alex raised an eyebrow.  
  
Tom smiled ruefully, "That we weren't a couple, not the truth about our pasts. Ah, Alex… about what you said about B'Elanna…"  
  
"Don't even try to tell me it's not true."  
  
"I won't. I just wanted to tell you that I'm still searching for that courage…"  
  
  
  
The End! Finally!  
  
I plan to make a sequel in which the crew discovers the truth about Tom's past but I don't know what to do for the plot yet… Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, e-mail me at Sirap46@hotmail.com! 


End file.
